Rare Duesenberg Model J to sell at Pebble Beach auction

Santa Monica auction house Gooding & Co. has landed a rare Duesenberg to sell at its annual auction at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance this August.

The Blue J, a 1929 Duesenberg Model J Dual-Cowl Phaeton in its signature blue livery is part of the William A.C. Pettit III collection from Natural Bridge, Va.

The Model J still carries its original engine, chassis and LeBaron Dual-Cowl Phaeton coach work. It is expected to sell for $2 million to $2.75 million.

Gooding & Co. will be selling 11 other cars from the collection, including a 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom l Derby Speedster that has had only two owners.

In other classic car news, the annual Barrett-Jackson classic car auction held this weekend at the Orange County Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa easily beat last year’s numbers.

The auction generated more the $14 million in sales, a $1 million more than a year ago. The Barrett-Jackson auction house sold more than 400 cars, about a 33% gain from a year ago.

But the top seller turned out not to be a classic. It was a 2013 SRT Viper Two Door Coupe, which sold for $300,000, benefiting the Austin Hatcher Foundation for pediatric cancer. The top classic car was a 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429, which sold for $253,000.